AimPre‐degradation baseline conditions (references) provide crucial context for restoration actions. Here, we compare vegetation structure and its driving processes across the main pre‐agricultural references discussed for temperate Europe: the Last Interglacial and the early‐mid Holocene—before and after the arrival of Homo sapiens, respectively.LocationTemperate Europe.Time PeriodThe first ~4000–6000 years, excluding the initial early‐successional phases, of the Last Interglacial (PAAZ III) and Holocene (8700–5700 BP).Major Taxa StudiedPlants.MethodsWe use large datasets of pollen‐based vegetation reconstructions (REVEALS) to compare open vegetation, light woodland and closed forest between the two periods. We use Random Forest modelling and downscaled climate data to assess whether climate‐vegetation relations were consistent between periods, as expected if they reflected direct climatic effects on vegetation.ResultsOpen vegetation was slightly higher in the early–mid Holocene than in the Last Interglacial, averaging 20% versus 16% in paired grid cells, respectively. In contrast, light woodland cover was lower in the early–mid Holocene, with mean values of 49% compared to 57% in paired cells. The combined open vegetation and light woodland cover was high in both periods, averaging 73% in the Last Interglacial and 69% in the early–mid Holocene. Closed forest cover was similar across both periods (Holocene = 24%; Last Interglacial = 23%). Notably, openness –climate relations from the early–mid Holocene cannot predict open vegetation in the Last Interglacial.Main ConclusionsThese findings suggest that vegetation in the early–mid Holocene and Last Interglacial was affected by persistent, substantial disturbances, which were not controlled by direct climate effects, and that the main drivers differed between the periods, with the rich megafauna of the Last Interglacial and Mesolithic people as the primary candidates. Our findings support that early–mid Holocene ecosystems were already strongly shaped by Homo sapiens and differed from earlier temperate ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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植被结构的驱动因素因拟议的温带欧洲自然参考条件而异


AimPre-degradation 基线条件（参考文献）为恢复行动提供了关键的背景。在这里，我们比较了温带欧洲讨论的主要前农业参考文献中的植被结构及其驱动过程：末次间冰期和全新世早期中期——分别在智人到来之前和之后。地理位置温带欧洲.时间段末次间冰期 （PAAZ III） 和全新世 （8700-5700 BP） 的前 ~4000-6000 年，不包括最初的早期演替阶段。主要分类群研究植物方法我们使用基于花粉的植被重建 （REVEALS） 的大型数据集来比较两个时期之间的开阔植被、轻林地和封闭森林。我们使用随机森林建模和缩小的气候数据来评估气候-植被关系是否在各个时期之间保持一致，如果它们反映了气候对植被的直接影响，则符合预期。结果全新世早期-中期的开放植被略高于末次间冰期，成对网格单元的平均分别为 20% 和 16%。相比之下，全新世早期中期的浅色林地覆盖率较低，平均值为 49%，而成对细胞为 57%。这两个时期的开阔植被和浅色林地覆盖率都很高，末次间冰期平均为 73%，全新世早期至中期为 69%。两个时期的封闭森林覆盖率相似（全新世 = 24%;末次间冰期 = 23%）。值得注意的是，全新世早期和中期的开放性 - 气候关系无法预测末次间冰期的开放植被。主要结论这些发现表明，全新世早期中期和末次间冰期的植被受到持续的实质性干扰的影响，这些干扰不受直接气候影响的控制，并且主要驱动因素在不同时期之间有所不同，末次间冰期和中石器时代人类丰富的巨型动物群是主要候选者。我们的研究结果支持，全新世早期至中期的生态系统已经受到智人的强烈影响，并且与早期的温带生态系统不同。